


Friendship Contract

by MyriadMusings



Category: RWBY
Genre: Gen, Some references to abuse, Some references to alcoholism, Winter makes Qrow sign a friendship contract
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-27
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-10-17 13:13:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17561084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyriadMusings/pseuds/MyriadMusings
Summary: “This is a friendship contract.”Qrow stares at Winter. Winter doesn’t even blink.“You’re serious,” he realises out loud.“I’d like to make sure we’re on the same page,” Winter says as a way of explanation, and Qrow has no response.





	Friendship Contract

Qrow’s eyebrow twitches as the stack of papers thud onto the table before him. Winter doesn’t even wait for an invitation before she sits down next to him and straightens out the pile, barely giving him a sideways glance.

 

“What’s that supposed to be?” A few drops of whiskey fly from the rim of Qrow’s flask as he motions to the stack of papers, narrowly missing the first page, and Winter glares at him until he raises his hands like a man surrendering.

 

“As you know, we’ve decided to put the past in the past and invest in what we hope will be a more fruitful relationship between us-”

 

“Yeah, we decided to be friends. What’s that got to do with-

 

“Interrupt me again and I’m shaving your head.” Qrow snorts, but stays silent. Winter taps the stack. “This is a friendship contract.”

 

Qrow stares at Winter. Winter doesn’t even blink.

 

“You’re serious,” he realises out loud.

 

“I’d like to make sure we’re on the same page,” Winter says as a way of explanation, and Qrow has no response.

 

Winter sighs, and runs a finger down the papers. “I don’t have much experience, I’ll be the first to admit. I know some things, and I know my limits. I want to make sure that we don’t spoil anything before it goes anywhere.”

 

Qrow realises, just as suddenly, that Winter, in her own way, really is trying.

 

“Okay, okay,” he concedes, putting his flask to the side and dragging the pile toward himself. “Let’s see what we’ve got here…”

 

He sees small print. Font size 10 at most. He flips through the pages to the last one and sees the tiny number written in the corner and lets the pile fall.

 

“ _ Fourty-seven pages? _ ”

 

“I wanted to be thorough.”

 

It takes all the willpower that Qrow has, and any extra that he can borrow from Raven via their ‘shared twin connection’ or whatever, not to grab his flask and bolt.

 

* * *

 

“From now on, your nickname will be Birdbrain.” Winter flips the page and points to a new heading marked ‘nicknames’. “Expect it every time you call me Ice Queen.”

 

Qrow’s hand is already cramping and they’re eleven pages in. “How does that benefit me at all?”

 

“I never nicknamed you before. It implied that we had a playful relationship.”

 

Qrow stares at her for a good few seconds before asking, “Have you ever had fun in your life, Ice Queen?”

 

Winter’s mouth pinches shut and she looks down. She hears Qrow shift in his seat, and for a moment she’s glad that he sounds uncomfortable, because now she’s remembering, remembering taking a break from her studies to play with her dolls, and then Jacques comes in and demands why she’s not doing something productive with her time, and sometimes his hand comes too close and-

 

“That depends on your idea of fun.”

 

Qrow wouldn’t have known. There was no way he could have known that, even now, Winter was afraid of sitting down and picking up a book for a fun, relaxing read. That she still looked over at the door, just in case someone came in. He couldn’t have known, but he’s silent and Winter’s pretty sure he can guess.

 

Winter refuses to be the pitied party.

 

“Birdbrain.”

 

* * *

 

“We are permitted one emoji-only text per day. They do not roll over if you do not use your allotted one the day before. And yes, the winking face counts. Also, if you drunk text me, I am allowed to show any and everyone what you sent, to my own discretion. As an extra side-note, if you send me selfies, they will seldom be returned. I'm not the selfie type of person.”

 

Qrow feels himself regret everything as he signs his name over and over for the most mundane of things and Winter keeps rambling on. They’re maybe halfway through the contract by this point and his head is starting to jumble up every little bit of information that Winter expects him to remember.

 

“I take my tea with two sugars. Sometimes three.”

 

"I thought you took your tea with coffee for added bitterness."

 

Winter glares at him again and Qrow counts that as a small victory.

 

“If I wanted any more bitterness I'd drink myself into oblivion like  _ some _ people I know.”

 

And of course she immediately goes for a hit below the belt. It’s something he’s come to expect, but that doesn’t make it any less infuriating. Winter wouldn’t know that he drinks to help numb his guilt, to help him through the day, to ensure that he didn’t fall apart when he had too much left to do. She couldn’t know. She only knew her mother’s situation, she knew alcohol as a form of cowardice.

 

Qrow refuses to be put down like that.

 

“If you’re going to make me sign a contract to be your friend,” he snaps, “maybe start acting like a friend would.”

 

Winter at least has the grace to look ashamed for a fleeting moment.

 

“The world is bitter enough as it is and tea doesn't judge me.”

 

He feels the whiskey in his stomach churn and wishes he had a glass of water or a refill for his flask. “I guess that’s fair.”

 

There’s still a lot they have to learn about each other.

 

* * *

 

Qrow’s hand is smudged with ink and Winter’s impressed that he’s still going. They’re almost at the end of the contract when Winter finally says, “I honestly can’t tell if you called my bluff a while ago or if you’re really trying.”

 

Qrow’s hand freezes in place, and Winter has her answer.

 

“Are you telling me…” Qrow’s voice is quiet and strained, and Winter feels the tingling schadenfreude build to a level that breaks an evil smile onto her face, “...that I’ve been signing a bunch of bullshit for the past hour?”

 

Winter can’t hold back a giggle and Qrow looks about ready to commit murder. “Did you really think that I’d start all my relationships with a  _ contract _ ?”

 

The look on his face is absolutely  **priceless** .

 

His hand is on his weapon and he’s on his feet in a moment. “I’ll give you a five second headstart, Ice Queen. Five… four...”

 

Maybe Winter couldn’t have fun in a conventional sense. Maybe messing with Qrow was the only way she really knew how to be around him.

 

“Three…”

 

But Winter can see that, as angry as he is, there’s a layer of respect in his gaze. Winter almost feels like a child again as she reaches for her own weapon and stands up.

 

“Two…”

 

It’s only in battle when she truly feels free, after all.

 

“One.”

 

“Catch me if you can, Birdbrain.”


End file.
